According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cases of anxiety disorders and depression have risen sharply worldwide in recent years. But sufferers often have to put up with long waiting times due to capacity bottlenecks for therapy places. This is where digital therapeutics (DTx) or digital therapists in the form of mental health apps could offer support. But not all of these DTx deliver what they promise. Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch explains in the interview with Daniel Sager from the University of St.Gallen which DTx are trustworthy and when such interventions are most effective according to his research.

Dr. Kowatsch researches and works for the Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care at the University of Zurich, the School of Medicine at the University of St. Gallen, and the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics at ETH Zurich.

Together with Prof. Nicholas C. Jacobson and Prof. Lisa A. Marsch from the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth, he also edited the recently published book Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health and Addiction – State of Science and Vision for the Future.

Dr. Kowatsch also co-supervises the study BEDDA (join the study via this link here), which is run by Ph.D. student Gisbert Teepe with the goal to develop a digital biomarker for subclinical depression.